Conflict: The Hundred Days
Combatants: Allies vs. French
Location: Netherlands (now Belgium)
Outcome: Allied victory
Napoleon Bonaparte's triumphant return from exile came to its culmination on June 18th, 1815. At midday, Napoleon with 72,000 soldiers attacked the Duke of Wellington's British army of 67,000 in the Netherlands (now Belgium). By afternoon, the French army had pushed back the British and Dutch forces.
Yet by 4 PM, the full force of the Prussian army pushed heavily against the French right. The French cavalry attacking the British center fell back, Wellington counterattacked and Napoleon's army collapsed. The French suffered some 32,000 casualties in this final battle of the Hundred Days.
Points of Interest:
After his defeat at Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon considered retiring to the United States but was instead exiled to the British territory of St. Helena.
The Duke of Wellington served as the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1828 to 1830 and again, very briefly, in November and December of 1834.
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Sources:
Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).
Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.
Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1990). The Napoleonic Source Book. New York: Facts on File.
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